Unrequited Love, Dead Uncles, and Peanut Butter
by fireflyxangel
Summary: Based six months after 5x05, Lucas contemplates whether or not to tell Brooke that he loves her. ONE-SHOT. BRUCAS


**AN: So, this is my first OTH fic in such a long time. Naturally, I made it brucas. Hopefully, people enjoy this. This one-shot was the kind of story that kept gnawing at me until I wrote it down.**

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Brooke Davis is not a stop on the way - she's a destination.

It had been six months since Lucas had last seen Brooke and their night together in New York was still fresh in his mind - despite the large amounts of alcohol he had consumed. Brooke brought a smile to his face, she made him happy. For one night, he could really forget about everything.

Some times it was hard for Lucas to reflect on the past which was not exactly a good quality for a writer who based his first book on his life. He had tried to gloss over the Brooke and Peyton moment of his life because there were too many "what if" questions that followed those thoughts.

What if he had chosen Brooke?

What if Peyton had said yes?

What if he had mailed the letter to Brooke that was burning a hole a metaphorical hole in his desk?

Lucas tried not to think of the what ifs of his life because if he did think of them - they would drive him fucking insane.

It had been a simple letter that said the words he had not spoken, but desperately wanted to speak. He was not even sure it could classified as a love letter, or even a letter. The content was 7 words, and hardly anything as poetic as someone would expect.

Taking the letter out of its hiding place, Lucas held the light envelope in his hands. The stamp had been on there for nearly two months, but he did not have the courage to mail it. Fear stopped him. Brooke was a friend, and Lucas couldn't risk losing her friendship just because he had decided he loved her.

It was not often that Lucas drank more than just a bottle of beer, but tonight seemed especially unbearable to him. Slipping into a drunken stupor had been easy, it just involved drinking until he had gained the courage to place the envelope into the mail slot at the post office.

It had been a long day of deciding whether or not to even get the courage to take the letter outside of his room, let alone take the letter this far.

_"Lucas, this has to stop." _

_He looked up from his computer. His mother was standing there with her _I-know-more-than-you-so-you-better-listen-Lucas-Eugene-Scott _look._

_"What has to stop?"_

_Karen motioned with her hands. "This Lucas. This shell of my son who seems to either be completely consumed in his work or regretting something so much that his life has stopped almost completely."_

_She was right. He hated when she was right. "I'm fine, Mom, really."_

_"I know this behavior, you forget, I remember very well how you act when you are pining over someone. Tell her, Lucas. Tell Brooke while you still have the chance."_

_Lucas was in shock. He had not even uttered his feelings for Brooke - and yet his mother knew. "How - how'd you know?"_

_Karen chuckled. "Lucas, I'm your mother. And believe me when I say that you do not want to wait years to tell the person you love that you love them. Life can be unbelievably short."_

_He knew she was referring to Keith. Even though it had been years, Lucas knew she still thought about him and the time that they had wasted. "What if she doesn't love me back?"_

_"Lucas, how will you know if you don't tell her? Don't let fear hold you back."_

Lucas almost dropped the letter into the slot, but stopped himself. What if Brooke didn't love him back? What if she didn't want him anymore? What if...it was too late?

He sighed, dropping his arms down to his side and turned around to go home.

"Where do you think you're going?" someone said behind him.

Lucas turned around. The voice had sounded so familiar...so real. But no one stood there. There was nothing but the wind blowing in his ear.

"Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love."

Lucas turned around again. Wiping his eyes, he tried to make sure his vision was correct. "Keith?" he said barely above a whisper. The last time he had seen a vision Keith, he had been in a coma. Lucas really hoped he hadn't drunken himself into a coma. "What did you say?"

"Don't wait Lucas. Whoever you decide, don't wait to tell her - that publisher who makes goo-goo eyes at you, Peyton." Keith paused for a moment. "Or Brooke." He walked closer to his nephew. "Lucas, I wish I hadn't have waited."

Lucas wiped his eyes again, and Keith was gone. The logical side of him wanted to blame the alcohol...say it was his subconscious. Taking a deep breath, Lucas walked to the mail slot and slipped the letter inside. He felt a weight lift off of him as he heard the letter fall in - though he did wonder what Keith meant about unrequited love and peanut butter.

* * *

"Brooke, you have a letter," Brooke's temporary assistant said, handing Brooke the letter and several other things that would fall under the category of junk mail.

"Thank you," she replied, taking the one from the top of the pile. Brooke recognized the handwriting immediately, she had 82 letters with the same handwriting. Carefully, Brooke opened the letter. Was something wrong? No. Someone would have called her.

_Brooke, _

_It has always been you._

_ -Lucas_

At first, Brooke was not sure how to react. She and Lucas had ended things years ago...but that kiss. It would be a lie if Brooke said she had not thought about Lucas since his drunkenly kissed her, but she refused to be his rebound. She refused to be the person who betrayed her best friend.

Brooke took out a pen, and scribbled some words on a piece of paper before shoving the paper into an envelope and addressing it. "Tell my mother that I'll be back." Normally, Brooke would have sent her assistant to mail a letter, but this was special.

It had been over a week since Lucas had seen a vision of his dead Uncle and mailed the letter, but still he had no reply from Brooke. She moved on, he decided. She didn't want to be with him and now it was his time to move on.

Sitting down at his desk, Lucas began to type something about unrequited love, peanut butter, and how both can be terrible given certain circumstances. Then something caught his eye.

It was a small envelope with his name on it and an express mail stamp on top. He opened the letter quickly - like removing a band aid.

_Lucas, _

_Took you long enough._

_ -Brooke_

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_**Oh and if anyone is wondering what the quote that Keith says is from - it's from Charlie Brown. I just thought it was a quirky and oddly true statement.**_  
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**So, yeah...you should review. Just sayin'.**_  
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